From the moment your little one was born, we guarantee that the only thing you’re going to have been thinking about is what type of mom you’re going to be. During your pregnancy, we don’t doubt that you would have been thinking whether you would have been a good mom at all. We all have those first baby jitters, and in fact, it doesn’t matter how many children we have, we still doubt our abilities as a mother. But you’ll often find that pretty much everything comes naturally, and you settle into the life of a mom so easily. It almost feels like second nature to care, love, and protect these little bundles of joy that we’ve created. We know that you’re going to be tested over time, both with your patience, your mental strength, and with your emotions. Especially as children get a little bit older, they seem to love to cause so many problems to our life! It can be the problems that children cause that leads us to question what type of mother we are. So, we want to run you through some of the most stressful situations you’ll face, and how to ensure you never stop being the perfect mom throughout.
Photo by Nicholas Githiri from Pexels
Pre Birth Worries
The panic really does start when you realize you’re about to have a baby. You start questioning your decision (if there was one), and no doubt all you’ll be thinking about is how your life is going to change over the next few months. Then, you’ll start to think about all of the things that you could be doing during your pregnancy that will harm the baby. We know most of you will think about this because it’s just so heavily plastered over social media and the news as to what you shouldn’t be doing. Then you’ll see another article telling you to do it. It can all get a little bit confusing from time to time, but we think there are a few base rules that you should follow. Rule number one is to make sure you’re as relaxed as you can possibly be during your pregnancy. Try not to focus on the stresses of life or even the stresses of pregnancy, and focus on the things that are going to become really important to yours, and the babies health.
Another is to make sure you’re not overworking yourself. You really do need to think about living a laid-back lifestyle as much as you possibly can. The amount of women who work right up until their due date… literally, and overwork themselves is incredible. You would think that we’d be desperate to take some time off and relax as early as possible, but obviously, money can play a big part in a woman’s desire to work up until the very last point possible. The best thing you can do is go part time if you have the freedom of being able to do that. If not, work full time but try to reduce the amount of jobs you’re doing at work. Also, try and stick to clean eating and light exercise where you can. It really does help you and the baby out!
The First Year Of Terror
Once you’ve gone through the whole ordeal of pregnancy, you should start settling into life a bit more smoothly. You should know all of the basics, and you should have built a bond with your little baby that’s unbreakable. But, that doesn’t mean the first year is going to be all swings and roundabouts. In fact, it’s going to be one of the most stressful times of your life. There will be so many things that both you, and baby needs to get used to. One stage where all moms seem to question whether they’re a good mom or not, is during the 8-month crisis stage. All of the sudden your little bundle of cuddles and sleep will start to change. They’ll demand more from you, they’ll have mood swings, and it can often make you feel like you’re doing everything wrong. Caring For Your 8 Month Old Baby: The 8-Month Crisis is a fab article you should read if you feel like you’re suffering a little bit. There’s plenty of tips out there that will help you right through to the stage where you notice they’re trying to crawl. But, until then, all you can do is make sure that you’re being as loving as ever, and keeping yourself calm in the knowledge that it’s not your fault, it’s something they all go through.
Toddling Nightmares
If you’re having toddling nightmares, then our hats go off to you. If you have toddlers running around you all of the time, we just know that your stress levels are going to be through the roof. In fact, we just know that you’ll be pulling your hair out every time they try to get up. It’s the phase where they’re most likely to hurt themselves, most likely to break things, and most likely to wonder of. Not only that, but as they start getting towards the terrible twos, you literally have a walking, talking angry nightmare. During those moments where you feel at your lowest, we urge you to simply slow things down a little. Have calm time in front of the TV watching a film, take them to the park to tire them out, or even pass the burden on to your partner. Just because they’re stroppy and falling all over the place, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to be any less of a mother.
Ahhh!! They’ve Started Big School
Ok, so you’ve made it through the years of them toddling around, and crying as you watch them walk into school from behind the gate. But, most of you will admit that you still see your little baby, as your little baby, because they’re still in little school. As soon as they hit big school, it suddenly hits home that they’re actually growing up. But with this comes all of the hormones and drama that school life brings. To make sure you’re getting through this one safely, you have to ensure that you’re getting them excited for education, and you’re keeping them on track as much as you can. Most of the problems happen during these years, and it can even be the time where your kid starts to resent you more than love you. To try and keep the bond strong during these years, let them be a free spirit as much as possible. Don’t be the parent who is holding them back with socialization, or even being in their hair too much. As long as you make sure their education is on track, and you keep that close bond, they’ll be able to open up to you about any problems that they might be going through.
The Hardest Years Are The Teenage Years
Like we’ve just said, it’s all about trying to keep the bond, which definitely becomes harder as they get older. The best thing you can do during their teenage years is to make sure that you’re offering as much emotional support as possible, and that you’re staying the cool mom. You really won’t be the perfect mom if you’re always nagging them, and drawing a line between the two of you. The best mantra to adopt is more of a friendly one, rather than the mom who wants to know everything and everything about their kids’ lives! Any fallouts you might have can easily be solved if you get down to their level.